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Anthropogenic pressures affect large stretches of Mediterranean coastal environments, determining alterations, including chemical pollution, able to impair ecosystem functioning and services. Among the pollutants of major concern for their toxicity and persistence, there are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which can be effectively monitored through bioaccumulation approaches. However, the main biomonitor of PAHs in the Mediterranean Sea, Posidonia oceanica, is currently undergoing extensive regressions due to anthropogenic pressures, forcing the search for alternative biomonitors. In this context, with a view to evaluate the effectiveness of the red alga Laurencia microcladia as an alternative PAH biomonitor, we comparatively investigated the accumulation gradients of 14 PAHs in its thalli, in leaves of P. oceanica and in surface sediments collected from different sites along the Cilento coast (southern Italy). The two species mainly absorb PAHs from water rather than sediments and show comparable PAH concentrations, with a preferential accumulation of low molecular weight PAHs in L. microcladia and of medium molecular weight PAHs in P. oceanica. Although with different accumulation profiles, both macrophytes highlighted comparable concentration gradients of anthracene and benzo[a]pyrene across study sites and the highest concentrations near a harbour. The obtained findings indicate that L. microcladia can be considered an effective biomonitor of PAHs in coastal ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permanent artificial lighting systems in tourist underground environments promote the proliferation of photoautotrophic biofilms, commonly referred to as lampenflora, on damp rock and sediment surfaces. These green-colored biofilms play a key role in the alteration of native community biodiversity and the irreversible deterioration of colonized substrates. Comprehensive chemical or physical treatments to sustainably remove and control lampenflora are still lacking. This study employs an integrated approach to explore the biodiversity, eco-physiology and molecular composition of lampenflora from the Pertosa-Auletta Cave, in Italy. Reflectance analysis showed that photoautotrophic biofilms are able to absorb the totality of the visible spectrum, reflecting only the near-infrared light. This phenomenon results from the production of secondary pigments and the adaptability of these organisms to different metabolic regimes. The biofilm structure mainly comprises filamentous organisms intertwined with the underlying mineral layer, which promote structural alterations of the rock layer due to the biochemical attack of both prokaryotes (mostly represented by Brasilonema angustatum) and eukaryotes (Ephemerum spinulosum and Pseudostichococcus monallantoides), composing the community. Regardless of the corrosion processes, secondary CaCO3 minerals are also found in the biological matrix, which are probably biologically mediated. These findings provide valuable information for the sustainable control of lampenflora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In cave ecosystems tourists represent moving sources of discontinuous disturbances, able to induce transient system responses whose knowledge is crucial in defining appropriate conservation measures. Here we propose an approach to evaluate the amplitude and scales of cave alterations based on high-resolution air monitoring, through the use of purposely developed low-cost monitoring stations and a consistent analytical framework for information retrieval based on time series analysis. In particular, monitoring stations adopt a modular structure based on physical computing platforms acquiring data through several sensors, with means of preventing humidity damages and guaranteeing their continuous operation. Data are then analyzed using wavelet periodograms and cross-periodograms to extract the scales of tourism-induced alterations. The approach has been exemplified in the Pertosa-Auletta Cave, one of the most important underground environments in Southern Italy, highlighting the development of monitoring stations and the information obtainable with the proposed analytical workflow. Here, 2 monitoring stations acquiring data for 1 year at 1′ sampling time on temperature, relative humidity, CO2, VOCs, and particulate matter were deployed in trails subjected to different levels of tourism. In terms of Pertosa-Auletta Cave air dynamics, the approach allowed estimating the temporal and spatial scales of tourism-induced alterations in the order of minutes and meters, respectively, with parameter-dependent variations. On more general terms, the approach proved reliable and effective, with its modularity and low-cost fostering its straightforward adoption in other underground ecosystems, where it can support the development of tailored management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caves are usually oligotrophic ecosystems, where the organic matter represents a limiting factor to the hypogeal community and sediments are often a significant energy source. With a view to identifying the energy input influencing the ecological processes occurring in caves, as well as the potential alteration sources of the natural equilibriums, geochemical features of several typologies of clastic sediments from the Pertosa-Auletta Cave (Italy) were investigated. The collected sediments, analyzed for a number of chemical (organic matter, Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, S, Si, Sr, Ti, V, Zn concentrations) and mineralogical (quartz, calcite, dolomite, clay minerals) characteristics, showed a different composition. Overall, their origin is supposed to be allochthonous, related to the important fluviokarst activities interesting the cave in the past, whereas the abundance of calcitic and dolomitic compounds can be autochthonous, being the carbonate the main host rock. The highest concentrations of organic matter, together with C, Cu, Mo, N, P, Pb, S and Zn, highlighted in one sample composed mainly of bats guano, revealed an important bioavailable energy input as well as a pollutant accumulation, mainly of anthropogenic origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microbiota associated with vermiculations from karst caves is largely unknown. Vermiculations are enigmatic deposits forming worm-like patterns on cave walls all over the world. They represent a precious focus for geomicrobiological studies aimed at exploring both the microbial life of these ecosystems and the vermiculation genesis. This study comprises the first approach on the microbial communities thriving in Pertosa-Auletta Cave (southern Italy) vermiculations by next-generation sequencing. The most abundant phylum in vermiculations was Proteobacteria, followed by Acidobacteria > Actinobacteria > Nitrospirae > Firmicutes > Planctomycetes > Chloroflexi > Gemmatimonadetes > Bacteroidetes > Latescibacteria. Numerous less-represented taxonomic groups (< 1%), as well as unclassified ones, were also detected. From an ecological point of view, all the groups co-participate in the biogeochemical cycles in these underground environments, mediating oxidation-reduction reactions, promoting host rock dissolution and secondary mineral precipitation, and enriching the matrix in organic matter. Confocal laser scanning microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy brought evidence of a strong interaction between the biotic community and the abiotic matrix, supporting the role of microbial communities in the formation process of vermiculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In statistics, the identification of environmental criticalities, one of the primary goals of environmental monitoring and management, translates into the detection of spatial outliers. Detected in relation to purposely defined sets of indicators, both global and local outliers are pivotal in the identification not only of the severity and spread of criticalities, but also of their nature and causes. The present research exemplifies a procedural framework to identify environmental criticalities, using two different approaches for the detection of spatial outliers in river ecosystems related to several sets of parameters (organic C, inorganic C, Ca, Co, Cr, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, N, Na, P, S, Si, V, Zn, Cl−, F−, NO3−, SO42−, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, pheophytin a, pheophytin b, total carotenoids, pH, and electrical conductivity), including emerging contaminants. To this end, indicator sets diagnostic for specific criticalities, derived from an empirical dataset of water quality parameters, were employed, using detection techniques based on geographically weighted principal component analysis and a modified pairwise Mahalanobis distance–based algorithm. Clear and accurate criticality scenarios were derived, highlighting both the strengths and the limitations of the proposed approach, especially in relation to the classic threshold-based methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of long-term soil fertilizations on nutrient and non-essential element concentrations in edible parts of three crops important in human diet were investigated repeating four treatments (biowaste compost, biowaste compost plus mineral nitrogen, mineral NPK, unfertilized control) for seven consecutive years (2007–2014). Fruits of Solanum lycopersicum cv San Marzano collected in 2011 and 2012, bulbs of Allium cepa cv Bianca di Pompei collected in 2012 and 2013, and bulbs of Foeniculum vulgare cv Orbit collected in 2014 were analyzed. Wide variations in element concentrations were observed along time and among species, with Ca, K, Mg, and Na higher in fennel bulbs and Cd, Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn higher in tomato fruits, where Cd reached concentrations up to ninefold higher than the permitted values (EU Regulation n. 488/2014). Despite the enrichments in soil total Cu and available Cd, Fe, K, Mn, and Zn concentrations due to long-term fertilization with biowaste compost (alone or with mineral fertilizers), plants showed lower micronutrient and non-essential element concentrations in respect to those on unfertilized soils. Considering the potential toxicity for human beings of these mobile and persistent elements, the obtained findings reassure on the safe use of biowaste compost in agriculture. Overall, this study suggests the use of compost as the most advisable fertilization practice and highlights the need of multiple crops analysis in evaluating the effects of long-term soil fertilization on their chemical composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concentrations of four heavy metals (HMs) (Cd, Cr, Fe, Pb) and four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (fluoranthene, phenanthrene, chrysene, benzo[a]pyrene) in Quercus ilex L. leaves collected at the Campania Region (Southern Italy) in previous air biomonitoring studies were employed to (1) test the correspondence with an a priori site subdivision (remote, periurban, and urban) and (2) evaluate long temporal trends of HM (approximately 20 years) and PAH (approximately 10 years) air contaminations. Overall, Q. ilex leaf HM and PAH concentrations resulted along the gradient: remote < periurban < urban sites, reflecting the a priori subdivision based on human management. Over a long time, although a clear decrease of leaf Pb, chrysene, fluoranthene, and phenanthrene concentrations occurred at the urban sites, a high contamination level persists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural soils of semi-arid Mediterranean areas are often subjected to depletion of their chemical, physical, and biological properties. In this context, organic fertilization, in addition to providing nutrients for a longer time in respect to mineral fertilization, improves many other characteristics related to soil fertility. Moreover, the combined use of organic and mineral fertilizers may promote a more sustainable crop production. However, a concern on the long-term use of organic fertilizers arises in relation to the possible accumulation of toxic elements in soil and their transfer to human beings. For this reason, a long-term study on nutrient and toxic element total concentrations and availabilities during fertilization treatments was carried out. In particular, mineral NPK fertilized soils, soils amended with biowaste compost, soils amended with biowaste compost plus mineral nitrogen, and unfertilized soils were analyzed for 11 chemical elements. The results highlighted that temporal variations in total and bioavailable concentrations of both nutrients and toxic elements, occurring also in unfertilized soils, are wider than those related to fertilization treatments. Anyway, soil amendments with biowaste compost, alone or in combination with mineral fertilizers, reduce Cu bioavailability but improve K, Fe, Mn, and Zn availabilities, excluding at the same time a long-term accumulation in soil. Total and bioavailable toxic element concentrations (apart from available Cd) do not vary in relation to fertilization treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Choosing native vascular plants as nutrient and toxic element accumulators for passive biomonitoring of urban river quality is not an easy task in Mediterranean rivers, due to the particular climate determining high variations in river hydrology. To identify potential biomonitors for this area, the roots of seven species ( Angelica sylvestris, Apium nodiflorum, Tradescantia fluminensis, Nasturtium officinale, Persicaria lapathifolia, Arctium lappa, Typha latifolia), growing in seven sites along the River Irno (Southern Italy), were collected in July 2010 and analyzed regarding their capability to accumulate Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn through atomic absorption spectrometry. Notwithstanding the expected different accumulation degree among the species, they highlighted similar spatial contamination gradients, and all of them appeared suitable, alone or in combination, for river passive biomonitoring. A. nodiflorum, in particular, appeared the best biomonitor for the River Irno, where severe anthropogenic impacts were detected: high Cu and Cd contamination from vine cultivation in the upper stretch, and Pb, Zn, and Mn contamination in the medium stretch from airborne dusts coming from a cast iron foundry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A vegetation analysis was carried out on a degraded agricultural soil of the Mediterranean area (Campania region, southern Italy) in order to study the effects of different fertilization practices (quality compost, mineral fertilizers, mixed fertilization, and no fertilization) on the whole spontaneous vegetation community. The study was performed for two consecutive years at three different scales (species level, community structure, and community properties), using three different units of abundance (number of individuals, biomass, and cover of each species). The observations were carried out in spring, after 5 and 6 years of soil treatments, on a total area of 4 m for each soil treatment and in each year. The different fertilization practices did not determine changes in species composition; however, the relative abundance of dominant species increased in compost and mixed fertilized soils, particularly in the second year of observation. Although the dominance and diversity were unaffected by the different fertilization practices, the total biomass and total number of individuals increased in compost-amended soils. These results indicate the effectiveness of soil quality compost amendments to enhance natural revegetation, a key step in the recovery of degraded areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Partially mycoheterotrophic (mixotrophic) plants gain carbon from both photosynthesis and their mycorrhizal fungi. This is considered an ancestral state in the evolution of full mycoheterotrophy, but little is known about this nutrition, and especially about the physiological balance between photosynthesis and fungal C gain. To investigate possible compensation between photosynthesis and mycoheterotrophy in the Mediterranean mixotrophic orchid Limodorum abortivum, fungal colonization was experimentally reduced in situ by fungicide treatment. We measured photosynthetic pigments of leaves, stems, and ovaries, as well as the stable C isotope compositions (a proxy for photosynthetic C gain) of seeds and the sizes of ovaries and seeds. We demonstrate that (1) in natural conditions, photosynthetic pigments are most concentrated in ovaries; (2) pigments and photosynthetic C increase in ovaries when fungal C supply is impaired, buffering C limitations and allowing the same development of ovaries and seeds as in natural conditions; and (3) responses to light of pigment and C contents in ovaries shift from null responses in natural conditions to responses typical of autotrophic plants in treated L. abortivum, demonstrating photoadaptation and enhanced use of light in the latter. L. abortivum thus preferentially feeds on fungi in natural conditions, but employs compensatory photosynthesis to buffer fungal C limitations and allow seed development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the first time until now, the results from a prediction model (Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling System (ADMS)-Road) of pollutant dispersion in a street canyon were compared to the results obtained from biomonitors. In particular, the instrumental monitoring of particulate matter (PM10) and the biomonitoring of 14 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 11 metals by Quercus ilex leaves and Hypnum cupressiforme moss bags, acting as long- and short-term accumulators, respectively, were carried out. For both PAHs and metals, similar bioaccumulation trends were observed, with higher concentrations in biomonitors exposed at the leeward canyon side, affected by primary air vortex. The major pollutant accumulation at the leeward side was also predicted by the ADMS-Road model, on the basis of the prevailing wind direction that determines different exposure of the street canyon sides to pollutants emitted by vehicular traffic. A clear vertical (3, 6 and 9 m) distribution gradient of pollutants was not observed, so that both the model and biomonitoring results suggested that local air turbulences in the street canyon could contribute to uniform pollutant distribution at different heights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trefoil protein 1 (TFF1) is a small secreted protein belonging to the trefoil factor family of proteins, that are present mainly in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and play pivotal roles as motogenic factors in epithelial restitution, cell motility, and other incompletely characterized biological processes. We previously reported the up-regulation of TFF1 gene in copper deficient rats and the unexpected property of the peptide to selectively bind copper. Following the previous evidence, here we report the characterization of the copper binding site by fluorescence quenching spectroscopy and mass spectrometric analyses. We demonstrate that Cys58 and at least three Glu surrounding residues surrounding it, are essential to efficiently bind copper. Moreover, copper binding promotes the TFF1 homodimerization, thus increasing its motogenic activity in in vitro wound healing assays. Copper levels could then modulate the TFF1 functions in the GI tract, as well as its postulated role in cancer progression and invasion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total concentrations of Cd, Cr, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn were compared from October 1996 to April 1998 in Physcia biziana (Massal.) Zhalbr. v. leptophylla Vezda and in the bark of Quercus ilex L. sampled from the same trees at an urban park. Trace metal concentrations were also measured in the bark covered by the lichen thalli. The lichens showed significantly higher Cr, Fe, Ni and Zn concentrations than both uncovered and covered barks. By contrast, both types of barks had higher concentrations of Cd and Pb than lichens. Trace elements showed a wide temporal variation of concentrations both in the lichens and barks. No relationship was found between the analysed matrices as regards the time course of trace element concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]